Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival comes to Waukegan
Summoned, as Shakespeare says, “through the fog and filthy air,” a group of witches will gather to cast their spells at the sixth annual Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the historic Genesee Theatre in downtown Waukegan.
Professional storytellers will appear as “Literary Witches” from such classics as Shakespeare's “Macbeth” and L. Frank Baum's “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
Hosted by the Waukegan Public Library, the award-winning festival presents two performances every year on festival day — a scary evening show for listeners ages 12 and older and a 10:30 a.m. matinee for school kids.
Tickets are $17 for the evening show and $5 for the matinee, on sale now at the Genesee Theatre box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Library patrons can present any library card and receive $1 off at the box office.
“From Elphaba to Rowena Ravenclaw, witches rule pop culture these days,” said Elizabeth Stearns, the library's assistant director of community services. “You can find memorable characters, good and evil, all over our shelves.”
The festival will spotlight some of the wickedest witches in the library's canon of classics, Stearns says.
As the Wicked Witch of the West, storyteller Megan Wells will evoke winged monkeys in a headlong quest to destroy Dorothy and acquire her magical shoes. Wells serves as artistic director of the festival and appears each year in the persona of various nefarious characters, from Dracula to Mr. Dark.
The festival emcee, Jim May, will perform “Invisible Boy,” an eerie Ray Bradbury tale about a witch of negligible powers who convinces a boy that she can make him invisible.
Co-founder of the Illinois storytelling festival, May earned the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Network in 2000 and continues to perform on stages worldwide.
New this year, the evening show will feature a bilingual folktale performed in Spanish and English by storyteller Jasmin Cardenas. As “La Llorona,” Cardenas will reveal the tormented soul of a woman who drowns her own children to be with the man she loves.
Grammy-nominated storyteller Milbre Burch will make a special guest appearance at the festival. Winner of many national storytelling awards and honors, Burch will present “Sop Doll,” a suspenseful folk tale about murder and witchcraft.
“Bradbury became a household name largely because of the oral tradition of storytelling,” said Richard Lee, executive director of the Waukegan Public Library. “He first captivated his fans when his stories aired on old-time radio shows.”
Lee said the library created the festival not only as a tribute to Bradbury's genius, but also to showcase storytelling as an art form.
Winning entries to the 28th Annual Ray Bradbury Creative Contest will be on display in the Genesee Theatre lobby on the day of the festival.
Attendees are welcome to dress in costume as their favorite witch or wizard. Following the performance, the library will host a costume contest with prizes and a reception with all the storytellers at Green Town Tavern, three blocks south of the theater on Genesee Street. Admission is free, with a cash bar.
For information or to order festival tickets, call (847) 623-2041 or visit www.waukeganpl.org.